Your Meds Hold This Secret

These weekly newsletters will have therapy deep dives, effective coping skills, mental health tips, psychology info, LinkedIn tricks, and business bits. For some reason, each of these areas appears to connect in my mind and I'd like to share them with you. Cheers to actionable insights!

This week's focus is a psychology/mental health tip?for those who take medication or are thinking about it.

And how learning this one thing could give you the boost you need.

Here we go.

Quick Review

Let me be direct, taking medication for physical health is hard.

And as far as I can tell, taking them for your mental health appears harder.

But there is a special secret I want to share with you that can change a key factor in your medication process.

Let's kick things off with a rhetorical question:

"Did you know that your medication can be enhanced without changing the dosage?"

You may be thinking, "Jake, is this one of those placebo type things?"

Answer: yes and no

(If you do not know, a placebo is a fake pill (or substance) you'd take, and due to psychological mechanisms you feel better physiologically - cool right?!)

In a sense, if you think you're feeling better you then become better.

So yes it's sort of like a placebo, yet this article is not about taking a fake pill. This is about taking the actual medication that you get from an actual doctor.

Let's get to the secret.

Quick Science

There's loads of peer-reviewed research in both the physical and mental health care literature that shows a two-pronged process happening without your awareness:

1. It matters how you think about your medication

2. It matters how you think about the doctor giving you your medication

Said another way:

It is possible that if you trust in the medication you take AND are confident in your doctor who prescribes it to you, there is a higher chance that you will have enhanced effects from taking that medication.

This is not a joke, nor is this fake news.

Research this yourself and you'll find the same results.

Why am I telling you this? Good question.

Quick Fears

Time and time again I work with individuals who are petrified of taking psychotropic medication aka meds for mental health.

Here are some of those fears:

-Fear of side effects

-Fear of losing a sense of self

-Fear of being labeled by negative stigma

All valid.

With that, it's been an honor to have heart-to-heart conversations with each one of my clients because choosing to start medication isn't an easy path.

The outcome of these talks? Wow. All I can say is, wow.

Here's an observation:

Client's who were originally hesitant about their medication had reported more negative side effects and fears. As I had previously discussed.

Those same clients now take their meds like second nature and are reporting minimal to no side effects, positive gains in therapeutic outcomes, are sleeping better, having a normal appetite, balanced mood, good energy levels, and are feeling more motivated.

How? Because we talk about it.

We talk about their level of trust in me and the team I work with.

There's an actual conversation about these fears, steps on how to manage them, and starting a medication regimen we all can agree on.

Client care is a must in my corner of the world. Medications included.

Because how you interact with your provider and how you understand the meds really do matter, scientifically speaking.

Let's Get Pragmatic

Look, me telling you this is all fine and dandy, but what you want to know is how does this actually happen.

First, here are some questions you can ask yourself right now:

1. Do I trust my provider?
2. Do I trust the medication I take?

If you answered yes for both, that's a win-win.

If you answered no for just one of them, then it's time to do one of the hardest things:

It's time to speak up to your doctor.

I totally get it.

I mean, public speaking is still feared more so than death itself. And by the same token, having a good relationship with your provider could enhance your treatment outcomes.

Let's Get Real

It may be the case you think you don't have a very good relationship with your treatment provider. So speaking up seems impossible.

It could also be the case where you do have a really good relationship with your provider, yet you may still have reservations about the medication you get from them.

Let's pause for a moment. Here's a quick word of encouragement about all of this:

Please, really think about this process because your mental health is totally worth the temporary fear and anxiety in speaking up for something that may benefit you in the long run.

Let me see if I can guide you here.

Here are some statements/questions I use when I talk to my own treatment team:

-"I'm still concerned with these medications because of the side effects. What can I do when I begin to notice these effects? May I contact you? What can I expect?"

-"I fear that I won't be myself if I end up taking this for the long-term. What have others honestly said about being on this sort of medication for a long time?"

-"Last we spoke I felt like I wasn't heard well enough about __________. I wanted to talk to you about it again so that you and I are on the same page with this. I'd really like to pick your brain."

-"What alternatives are there to this medication in the case it doesn't settle well with me like other meds? Are you open to reviewing other sorts of treatments? If so, what are they?"

Does that give you a better idea now? I hope so.

I also hope today's newsletter puts you in a different space where your perspective could be challenged a bit if you struggle with taking medication, or if you're thinking about it.

Because as far as I can tell, it seems that having an open and positive perspective about your medication and your doctor can change some outcomes of your treatment.

And your treatment matters because your mental health matters.

Take care.

Recap

1. Find a doctor/provider you can talk to about this for trust to develop

2. Use that same energy as confidence with the medication you receive

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